Desura Linux Game Client Goes Open Source

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Desura Linux Game Client Goes Open Source

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 21, 2012 @05:44PM from the penguin-entertainment dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Desura game distribution client for Windows and Linux and developed by ModDB is now open source software. The open source version of the client is called Desurium and is hosted on GitHub."

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I'm guessing.... by tecker · 2012-01-21 18:16 · Score: 4, Insightful

Im guessing that they do want to support Linux as a platform but the maintenance of the thing is killing them. Linux gamers exist but for the small numbers they provide I but the upkeep of the client is killing them time wise. Open sourcing the client makes sense if this is the case, otherwise why bother?

--
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1. Re:I'm guessing.... by ornia · 2012-01-21 23:10 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Im guessing that they do want to support Linux as a platform but the maintenance of the thing is killing them. Linux gamers exist but for the small numbers they provide I but the upkeep of the client is killing them time wise. Open sourcing the client makes sense if this is the case, otherwise why bother?
  ...except that they released their Windows client under GPLv3 as well?
  
  With only a single developer being employed at the company for the native GNU+Linux port, of course the arguement can be made that they did a cost-benefit analysis and determined that crowd-sourcing development talent and time from the Internet would yield a superior product that improves faster. This is not a testament to small numbers of GNU+Linux users, but rather the efficiency of modern Free Software development methodologies. The fact that they GPLv3-ed their Windows client is further proof of this fact.
Re:Wat by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-21 18:23 · Score: 5, Funny

Nobody games on PCs anymore
That is completely correct, Mr. Sony. Desura must be losing a lot of money on this, soon they will have to close down like Valve did because of Steam.
Re:Wat by sakdoctor · 2012-01-21 18:30 · Score: 4, Funny

Portal (2007) is retro gaming at its finest.
Open source doesn't imply abandonment. by spektre1 · 2012-01-21 18:47 · Score: 4, Informative

Or anything else, other than a surrender of a right, and a public sharing of it. A bit testimonial sounding here, so I apologize, but this is a doorway to getting game developers to start taking linux seriously. I just started using the Desura client and found that it runs faster on Ubuntu than on Windows. Just sayin'. Installing and purchasing are painless too. If you game, I wish you'd help promote it. Take it seriously and try not to be so flippant and judgemental. I'm going back to porting one of my projects to SDL now.
Re:Wat by wanzeo · 2012-01-21 20:51 · Score: 4, Interesting

The major change I have seen is that games have gone from focusing on physical technique or strategy to focusing on the story. I place games like half life, mass effect, and homeworld on the same level as my favorite books or movies when it comes to an ability to move me emotionally.
While I remember older arcade games from my childhood fondly, they lacked the narrative depth of more modern games, and were basically a challenging distraction. I sometimes wonder if the video game will become the 21st century's most distinctive art form.
Re:Never Heard of It by tenco · 2012-01-22 03:37 · Score: 4, Funny

I hate to sound negative about any software being open sourced, but so many companies use open sourcing as a marketing ploy or as a way to cut thier support costs, (...)
Companies use business practices and marketing to increase their revenue? Run for the hills!